7th Century BC

The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC.

The Assyrian Empire continued to dominate the Near East during this century, exercising formidable power over neighbors like Babylon and Egypt. In the last two decades of the century, however, the empire began to unravel as numerous enemies made alliances and waged war from all sides. The Assyrians finally left the world stage permanently when their capital Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC. These events gave rise to the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which would dominate the region for much of the following century.